Emily Mason’s World Championships Diary

By Emily Mason

MONTREAL, Canada, July 30. TODAY I hit the souvenir stand with some of my teammates to pick up stuff for friends and family. We took the long way around the pool, through the park and ran into a little creature. A furry little critter waddled out of some bushes toward me. At first I thought it was a beaver, but it had no tail. We decided it was way too big to be a gopher, so it must have been a groundhog, a little bit of a porker too. People must leave lots of goodies for them to eat.

I did a little sight-seeing between sessions with my parents, okay I really just went shopping, not so much sightseeing. I found a necklace with a fish charm to take home. Whenever I go to a foreign country I get a nice necklace to remember the trip. When I was in Yokohama for Pan Pacs it was a silver clover on a chain, in Barcelona for Worlds it was a handmade flower necklace, and when I went to Mexico with my college team I got a piece of glass tile inlaid in silver on a chain. So I had to continue the tradition.

Tonight was pretty awesome to say the least. Aaron Peirsol bettered his 200 back world record and Leisel Jones broke Amanda Beard’s record in the 200 breast. The men annihilated the rest of the field in the 4 x 200 free relay and set a new American record. Dave Salo made noise-makers for us to cheer with, empty water bottles with spare change in them. I’m sure our swimmers could hear us all night.

There has been a request by staff here in Montreal for me to write about “tales from the warm-up pool” so I’m working on that for tomorrow. Since I am still training for Duel in the Pool and Nationals I still get to deal with the dreaded warm-up pool and the inevitable frustration that comes with it. It should be fun.

A member of the Tucson Ford Swim Club, Emily Mason is representing the United States in the 200-meter butterfly at the World Championships in Montreal. At the 2005 NCAA Championships, the University of Arizona swimmer won the 500-yard freestyle and placed second in the 200 fly and 400 individual medley. She’ll provide SwimmingWorldMagazine.com with regular diary entries through the conclusion of the World Champs.